Published March 28 on Pymnts.com
Excerpt:
For instance, kiosks can increase consumer spending, no matter the market, according to various reports and QSR-focused kiosk research from PYMNTS. The increase in consumer spending when ordering through self-service kiosks is 30 percent. Léa French Street Food in Illinois, for example, found that kiosks encouraged customers to customize their orders. As a result, the restaurant noticed orders at the kiosk had much higher check sizes than counter orders. For example, kiosk orders had an average check size of $17.17, while counter orders had an average check size of $9.79.
When it comes to the future of kiosks, one market that certainly will lead the way is China, which by nearly all accounts is ahead of every other country when it comes to forms of unattended retail, including retail kiosks.
As Bloomberg has noted, kiosks have gained significant attention – that is, capital – from major retail and technology players. “Names from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. to Walmart Inc. and Sequoia have poured more than $1.7 billion into startups such as Mr. Fresh and Xingbianli (Gorilla Convenience) that for now offer little more than tricked-out vending machines or kiosks,” the news provider said. The appeal of kiosks? Much of it has to do with serving the masses of office workers in cities such as Shanghai, the report said.